Health Hub

Having a Dry July has great health benefits. We've brought together a collection of articles that could help you with your Dry July.


Motivation to Exercise

By James Anderson on

This whole “exercise thing” can be so annoying. From finding the time to finding the motivation, exercise – can be a real bitch. We both know it’s good for us, so why is it so difficult to stay on top of? Well, I think there are 3 main problems.

Problem #1 - It’s painful.

We’re genetically wired to try and achieve pleasure whilst avoiding pain. We create a “pleasure hierarchy” for ourselves, putting the most important things first and everything else, well, who cares. After all, which would give you more pleasure? Staying in your warm bed on a cold winters morning or doing burpees at 6am? So how do we overcome this?

Solution - Set goals.

Create an inspiring vision that allows you to rise above “the workout” and able to see the bigger, better, picture. A better you.

Create a goal/vision that’s more pleasurable/important than the short-term pain of a workout.

Then it will move up on your hierarchy and those “wants” and “needs” will become “musts” - surrounded by a clear absence of excuses.

Problem #2 – We want instant gratification

Not seeing results in one week? Guess it must be time to give up, right? Wrong. Good things take time; better things even longer. So why can’t wait [or work] for anything anymore?

“Instant gratification”

We now live in an age where we seem to think that just because we can get our Lululemon tights delivered to our door the same day we ordered them that the results should come soon as soon as we put them on. No offence, but you’re not Superman or Wonder Woman -- it just doesn’t work that way.

Solution – Embrace delayed gratification [and have goals]

Stop thinking in days and weeks and start thinking in months and years.

Health is a journey, not a destination. Strive for small, consistent daily efforts, as they will snowball into dramatically positive outcomes for your health.

When you can make this change in your mindset from seeing it only as a body transformation, to a total health transformation, you’re finally winning the game


Problem #3 - We make it too hard for ourselves.

We love extremism. Chasing diets and exercise fads with an all-or-nothing approach that only leaves us with one thing – nothing.

If doing something is good, more must be better, right? Nope.

We’re so time poor that the idea that you’re going to have the time to complete a program that requires you to train twice a day, everyday, for the rest of your life, is ridiculous. That’s unless you’re a superhero? Are you a badass caped crusader? Oh that’s right, you’re not; you’re only human – just like the rest of us.


Solution – Simplify [and embrace delayed gratification, oh, and goals]

I hate when people tell me they don’t have enough time to exercise. Because it’s never a matter of time, it’s just a matter of priorities. If you really wanted more, you’d do more. So I suggest you simplify things.

Create a bare minimum training commitment - make it achievable but non-negotiable. You HAVE to do those sessions. Then, anything over and above those sessions are just a bonus and a good way to feel better about your life.


Register your interest for Dry July 2024

Register Your Interest

Kickstart Yourself Back Into Movement

By Leanne Hall on

We’ve all been there. Hitting the gym regularly, eating really well and feeling fabulous. Then it happens. Maybe we over eat at a work function, or take a week off the gym because we’ve been feeling unwell. Or maybe we just feel bored with our current fitness routine. Whatever the trigger, the result is the same. Motivation takes a drastic nose-dive and we find ourselves frustrated, and perhaps even depressed at the fact that we just can’t seem to pull ourselves together and get back on track.

So how can you get back on the health and fitness wagon? Well, here are my tips to help get you back to your healthy self again!

Identify Obstacles

When motivation disappears, the first question you need to ask yourself is this: “Why?”

...

Read more…

A Beginner's Guide to Fitness

By Kirsty Welsh on

I’ve worked in the health industry for long enough to know the biggest goal when an individual joins a gym is, ‘I want to get fit!’

What does this even mean?

If you want to ‘get fit’ you need to start with a good definition of what fitness means to you, otherwise where do you even begin? It can be overwhelming!

Here’s a little bit of help to get you going. Physical fitness can be defined as the ability of the body to perform with energy and alertness. (Yes please, where do I sign up!) 

Fitness to me is not just physical; although we normally focus on the physical, I prefer to look at fitness as a blend of mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health. The beauty of physical activity is that movement allows us to think clearer,...

Read more…